Hi, folks.
Our other vehicle release this month is something I've wanted in miniature for a long time, but it was Mina who convinced me to go ahead and commission it. This is basically the epitome of the "Engines of War" range. Placed this in "Swashbuckling" as it is a Renaissance era design. Please forgive me if I chose poorly.
The following is DaVinci's tank design, conceived while in the employ of the Duke of Milan. Leonardo said of the design that,
"These take the place of the elephants. One may tilt with them. One may hold bellows in them to spread terror among the horses of the enemy, and one may put carabineers in them to break up every company."
Armed with cannon and (in some versions of the sketches) with pistol ports or "miniature bombards" in the 'turret' of the vehicle, the design was originally designed to be propelled by horses inside, but DaVinci soon concluded that this was not practical, and opted for a crew of men, operating a series of handcranked gears, to move the vehicle. A few years ago, the History Channel tested the design, and after reversing the gear placement, found that it worked as intended. It was conceivably possible under the technology of the sixteenth century, but Leonardo's Patron doesn't seem to have actually built any of the damned things.
At any rate, this model is based on one of the sketches generally accepted to be the "best" example of the design, and the most workable. Armament includes the cannons along the bottom of the hull, but the portholes in the turret have been provided with a series of smaller barrels, which might be used to represent the so-called "Miniature Bombards" or Telescopes. I have left them open in this example, as some sketches interpret these as porthole positions. Any is perfectly acceptable.
The vehicle is appropriately scaled for 28mm-32mm miniatures (Or, 1/56 scale), and I think it's some of Tobi's best work to date. Check out the wood grain!
The DaVinci will sell for $25US, and is available for immediate purchase/shipment. Kit is one resin hull, plus large and small cannon.
Good for Renaissance/Swashbuckling type adventures, at the very least would be a pretty keen addition to a DBR camp. (I know that the HOTT Renaissance list includes at least one of these, too.) I also think it'd work pretty well for Franklinian Science Fiction, or even Victorian Sci-Fi, but that's a matter of personal taste. Tried to find a source for "wind up" keys to provide with these, just for fun, but struck out;)
Anyway, to the images.
Here's the vehicle from the left side (I'm not sure Leonardo ever gave it a formal name, but a prof I admired always called it a Tortoise or Turtle.)
Here's a view of the rear, showing the access hatch. If you go to the DaVinci museum, the full scale replica opens up at this point to reveal a small ladder leading into the "turret" superstructure. Room for a single man in that position. Probably four to six in the hull itself.
Love this little thing. A very beautiful piece of work. Hope you agree,
Doc
08 June 2010, 10:35:32 AM
